A few weeks ago, after giving a keynote on AI and the future of work, someone in the audience raised their hand and asked me:

“Nicky, what are your thoughts on that South African lawyer who used ChatGPT for legal research, only to quote made-up cases in court? Should we be trusting AI with matters this important?”

Whew! That was a loaded one.

I took a deep breath and answered carefully. Yes, AI has a tendency to hallucinate but let’s not forget, humans have a tendency to be stupid too.

(Okay, I didn’t actually say that out loud of course but that was on my mind… begging to come out through my mouth… lol)

Imagine standing before a judge and realizing that your entire argument is based on AI-generated nonsense.

Well, I gave a diplomatic answer to the question, acknowledging AI’s tendency to “hallucinate” (aka, fabricate information like a pathological liar).

I explained that while AI can make mistakes, the real problem is when humans stop thinking critically and blindly trust whatever AI spits out.

The lawyer in question didn’t fail because AI tricked him. He failed because he didn’t fact-check AI output.

AI is an incredible tool but it’s just that… a tool. Relying too much on this tool is weakening our critical thinking skills. Now, that’s the problem.

When people copy answers from AI without verifying facts or context, bad decisions follow. In sectors like healthcare, finance, and education, this isn’t just inefficient. It’s dangerous.

Technology has always needed human oversight but now, many people are letting AI do all the work instead of using AI as an assistant.

If we’re not careful, this will lead to innovation paralysis.

True innovation requires critical thinking, trial and error and imagination. AI doesn’t do trial and error , it just predicts what might work based on past data. If everyone waits for AI to come up with ideas, who’s actually innovating?

What is AI-Induced Stupidity?

AI-Induced Stupidity is the cognitive decline that happens when people outsource too much thinking to AI tools, blindly trusting, copying or depending on machine output without questioning, verifying or thinking for themselves.

It’s what happens when:

• You stop thinking critically because ChatGPT “already knows.”
• You stop remembering because Google and AI will fetch it.
• You stop learning deeply because you’re just scanning summaries.
• You stop making decisions because an algorithm will recommend it.

AI doesn’t make us stupid. But our over-reliance on it does.

Mmmhh…a better term is AI-generated stupidity

The Telltale Signs of AI-Induced Stupidity

So how do we know if AI is quietly making us dumber? Here are 7 signs of AI-induced stupidity and how to avoid them.

1. Blind Trust in AI Output

People are quoting AI-generated content like it’s gospel. If it sounds confident and uses big words, we assume it must be right. But AI is a prediction machine not a truth machine. It can fabricate facts with perfect grammar.

The problem isn’t misinformation. It’s synthetic confidence. Assume AI is your intern not your boss. Review everything it gives you before using it.

If you don’t verify AI-generated content, you’re playing Russian roulette with credibility.

2. Death of Curiosity

We’re seeing a growing number of people who no longer ask follow-up questions. They accept the first answer, even when it’s vague or generic. Curiosity, once the fuel of innovation, is now being outsourced to autocomplete.

AI should spark curiosity, not replace it.

3. Your Creativity is Deteriorating

Creativity isn’t copy-paste. But in a world of endless AI tools, original thinking is being replaced by “template thinking.” People aren’t ideating, they’re just prompting.

Start with your ideas first, then use AI to refine them not the other way around.

When imagination dies at the altar of convenience, we all lose.

4. Echo Chambers of Hallucination

People are quoting AI content that’s completely made up but it sounds so professional no one notices. This is how false narratives go viral.

If you don’t question AI, you become a carrier of hallucination.

5. Prompt Dependency

This one’s subtle but dangerous. Instead of asking, “What’s the best way to solve this?” people now ask, “What prompt should I type?” … treating every problem as a prompt problem instead of a thinking problem.

Many people now struggle to:

• write without prompts,
• brainstorm without suggestions,
• think through problems without asking ChatGPT.

We’re not training AI anymore. AI is training us to be helpless. The hammer isn’t the hero. The brain is.

6. False Sense of Expertise

Shallow knowledge is everywhere. People know a little about a lot, but can’t explain or analyze anything with depth. AI delivers breadth but true understanding requires going deeper.

Many people now quote AI with the same certainty as a seasoned expert , without actually understanding the topic. They confuse output with insight.

AI gives you an answer. That doesn’t mean you understand the answer. Being informed is not the same as being educated.

You can’t explain your own work. AI wrote your report. AI crafted your email. AI generated your presentation.

And now, when someone asks you to explain what you just “created,” you stare at them like a deer in headlights.

Information is now cheap. Wisdom still costs effort.

7. The Disappearance of Original Thought

When everyone is using the same tools, trained on the same data, prompted in similar ways, you end up with a sea of sameness. Content, ideas and strategies start to feel like recycled echoes of one another.

AI isn’t stealing your job. It’s stealing your voice if you let it.

The Cure for AI-Induced Stupidity

The good news? This crisis has a cure. And it’s not found in another app. It’s found in the mindset of the user.

1. Skepticism

Don’t trust. Verify. AI is a tool, not a source of truth. Always fact-check, challenge, and question the output.

Skepticism isn’t negativity. It’s self-defense.

2. Critical Thinking

Don’t just consume. Analyze and ask:

• Does this make sense?
• What’s missing here?
• Who might be harmed by this answer?

These questions sharpen your ability to filter signal from noise.

3. Creativity

Use AI as a co-pilot , not the driver. Let it generate possibilities but don’t outsource your originality. Human creativity is messy, emotional, irrational and that’s what makes it valuable.

4. Discernment

In a world flooded with AI-generated content, discernment is your ability to separate noise from value, convenience from truth and automation from intention. It’s knowing when to trust the tool and when to trust your gut.

AI can generate endless possibilities but it can’t tell you which one matters most. That’s your job.

Discernment isn’t about being right all the time. It’s about asking, “Does this make sense for this moment, for this context and these people?”

Remain Vigilantly Human. Use AI but Don’t Let AI Use You

The smartest way to use AI is responsibly and critically. Treat AI like a brilliant but unreliable intern… capable of great insights but always in need of oversight.

Now tell me, which of these signs have you noticed in yourself or others?

What is the craziest AI mistake you’ve seen?

Let’s talk about it in the comments.

And don’t worry. I won’t judge. Much 🙂